


Second Life

by Lillyleaf101



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Complete, Death, Fluff, Good Tom Riddle, M/M, One Shot, Rebirth, Reincarnation, second life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 08:25:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2184723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lillyleaf101/pseuds/Lillyleaf101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry lives a full, long life after the battle of Hogwarts, marrying Ginny Weasley and raising a family. When he dies of old age he takes no regrets with him, after all, he has met death before. But what waits for him on the other side? </p><p>COMPLETE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Life

He didn't know where he was exactly or why he was looking at this but it seemed he was reliving his life. He saw through the eyes of a small, lonely boy, constantly bullied and punished for retaliating with neither friends nor family to care for him. Then a boy that found out he was magic, that was placed in the house he would 'do best in' and was bullied there too. He saw the harsh treatment the others gave that boy, beating him, teasing him and calling him a mudblood. _'What are you doing here? You aren't worthy! You aren't **anything**.'_ They would tell the boy. The only chance he had was to be stronger than them, crueler. And he did that. He proved himself their better and had them worship the very ground he walked on, literally. He saw the boy, now more an adult, already twisted by dark magic and societies views. He saw the boy tear his soul apart many times. He saw the boy become insane. He saw the monster that lead countless beings into battle and tortured innocents for amusement. He saw a simple house at Halloween, with kind people inside that had to die. He watched them die, without a care on the part of that monster, and he saw the boy, then he saw the world get ripped apart.

Then he saw through the eyes a small lonely boy, constantly bullied and punished for no reason at all. A boy with neither friends nor family to care for him. A boy that was also magic. That defied the house he would 'do best in' and went to another. A boy that made strong friendships and got into trouble. A boy that loved to fly but also loved to read when it interested him. A boy that was kind to all manner of creature, but stood up for himself in the face of bullies and bias teachers. A boy that never made the first move but was clever enough to counter someone elses. A boy that many didn't understand but had few enough that could. A boy that got thrown into danger time after time and still came out so innocent and kind-hearten. A boy that made and lost so many relationships and could still love. A boy that had the weight of a world put on his shoulders and never thought to give it up because who else could take his place. A boy that did what was right whether or not he had the support of the majority. A boy that stood in the face of evil and didn't back down or bow low. A boy that learnt the truth in the midst of a battle and walked alone to the forest. A boy that continued that walk with the spirits of his kin. A boy that stood tall in the face of that deathly green light. Then he saw the world get ripped apart.

And he still saw that boy. In that bright, white train station, talking to the elder man. But he no longer saw through the boys eyes. He was on the floor. He was small. He was _hurt_. Oh, did it hurt. And the boy looked to him, not with pity or anger, but with sympathy, the boy would help him if given the option. So why did he turn away? _Don't leave me here!_ Please. And I saw the boy go.

It was dark where he was. Like a black backdrop with no sign of anything, not a path or a bench. Just black. He was taller now, but not like the monster. He seemed... Human... But there was still something missing... How long had be been here? How long would he stay? Should he move from this spot? What would happen if he did? Would the visions come back? And then an aged voice.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice was friendly and not entirely unfamiliar to him. He turned around to face the newcomer. It was a short old man with many wrinkles, he didn't recall meeting this person but... He stared at him, trying to figure him out. The old man had a kind yet confused look on his face, He wore glasses, the rims completely round, his hair was greyed and dull but dark and messy. And then it came to him, he looked to the mans forehead and sure enough, there was that scar. His scar.

"Harry Potter..." He all but whispered.

"Yeah, that's right," The old man said awkwardly, "Are you death?"

"Death?" What an odd thing to say.

"Hmm, guess you're not here to greet me then. But I wasn't really expecting anyone else to be here... I wasn't really expecting _me_ to be here, I thought I would just... move on..." The man said.

"Here?" He wasn't entirely sure where here was.

"Uh, yeah... We are dead." It wasn't said very bluntly, the man still looked awkward, but then again the boy had too. "You didn't know you were dead?" The man asked him.

"I..." He wasn't sure how to answer, had he known? Maybe? He wasn't sure of anything.

"Sorry about that..." The elder said sympathetically, thinking his reluctance to answer meaning he didn't know he had died, "You seem so familiar to me, have we met before? Is that why you are here?"

He didn't really want to or know how to answer this, how would the man react?

"I don't think I would have forgotten you if you were important enough to show up here..." The old man stepped closer to him, he backed up a single step but did not retreat.

The aged wizard looked at him intently, from his hair, also greyed and dark but neat unlike the mans, to his dark eyes, almost black in colour, and his wrinkled old, normal, seventy year old face. Would he recognize him like this?

**-Harry's POV-**

Harry stared at the old man, intent to find out his identity. It seemed to hit him all at once and his eyes widened.

"...Tom?..." He whispered.

The old man in front of him nodded solemnly.

"But... How?... Why are you here?" Harry asked him.

"You left me here." He replied, it wasn't at all accusatory, simply factual.

"I... What?" He thought back, how could he have left Tom Riddle here? In the void between life and death? And he remembered, the horcrux inside him, he had left it at the void during the battle. "You stayed here? For all these decades?"

"I guess... There's no real time in here so I can't recall how long it has been... Minutes, months... Decades?..."

"It's been so long... I'm one-hundred-and-twenty-eight-years old... A hundred and ten years since... I married Ginny and had kids and everything, I just died of old age... But why am I _here?_ I didn't think I would be brought here again, just that I would simply... you know... move on..."

"Maybe its because we shared a body for so long, for sixteen years, ever since you were a year old we were basically the same being... That connection may have brought you here... It might be whats keeping me here..."

"So... You are stuck here because you ripped your soul apart? And because you spent so long connected to me whatever is going on with you has dragged me in too?!" Harry wasn't angry, just shocked and worried, he had hoped to move on to some sort of heaven and be with his loved ones or be reincarnated or whatever was meant to happen. Not this. Stuck in nothing.

"Maybe you were just brought here temporarily?" Riddle suggested, It was odd to see him so aged yet normal looking, and even odder still that he seemed to be trying to comfort Harry, but then again this was the part of Voldemort... or Tom?... that had shared a good portion of Harry's life together as the same being.

**-Tom's POV-**

"Maybe..." Harry agreed, "Maybe I can choose to move on or something..." Harry looked around as he said this, then suddenly the darkness shifted, a log appeared behind Harry which he sat on immediately as the backdrop changed into a forest, not too bright but certainly not dark or dreary. Peaceful.

"What just happened?" Tom asked Harry. The man looked at him and laughed before replying.

"I have been here before remember, All you have to do is imagine things and they happen." Saying this Harry started morphing until he looked like a much younger version of himself, one Tom recognized much easier.

Tom thought for a moment before copying Harry and imagining himself changing to a much younger version, he watched as his hands became less wrinkled and colour returned to them somewhat, He summoned a mirror with his imagination to check himself out and sure enough he looked around twenty again, just like Harry. He also didn't miss the fact that, unlike Harry, he was almost completely see-through.

"Hmm... That's odd..." Harry commented, obviously also noticing the transparent form Riddle was sporting. "I'm not see-through..."

"You didn't split your soul..." Riddle stated, now that he was dead he didn't feel angry very much, he just felt... Ashamed? He was stuck here, he had wasted his whole life trying to be immortal and live forever that he had never actually lived at all.

**-Harry's POV-**

Harry watched Riddle, seeing the light of the conjured forest pass right through him and thought about the situation he was in. As he did this Riddle turned away from the mirror, it disappearing as he did, and walked to the tree line, Harry watched as a low lying bush of some sort appeared and Riddle started eating the large red berries from it.

"You find out you can summon things with your mind and the first thing you do after De-aging yourself is conjure up some strawberries?" Harry laughed.

"What?" Riddle said as he stuffed another berry in his mouth, "I like strawberries..."

Harry found it odd but also endearing, he had never thought about what a dark lord might enjoy eating. He wondered though just how good those berries were, it wasn't like they were in a place were eating was necessary and Tom seemed to get over the berries quickly, standing up and taking in the surroundings again.

**-Tom's POV-**

"I don't like it." Harry stated.

"What? Being dead?" Tom asked him.

"No, I have died before as you would so clearly recall and I don't find it all that scary... I don't like that you are stuck here..." Harry mumbled the last part. Tom didn't know what to say, this boy, the very same one he and his counterpart had hunted down without a care and took so much away from was saddened by the fact that he was stuck in purgatory? What a truly beautiful person, if only his counterpart could have known. "Do you think... There's a way to help you? So you can move on?" The boy, for that was what he was again now, continued.

"Maybe... Perhaps if I could find my other soul pieces and take them back somehow... But I would probably just go to hell." Tom sighed.

"But... Otherwise you are just stuck here... And what good is that?" The boy asked, pressing the issue.

"I can conjure the things I want." Tom stated defiantly, pointing towards the strawberry bush to make his point. The boy looked at him with those wide, bright green eyes, and he seemed so sad. Sad for Tom. For me?

"But did those berries really taste that sweet?" The boy asked in a hushed tone, still staring and making Tom wonder if he didn't need to blink soon. The boy had a point though, they had tasted dull and empty, like how he felt being here. The boy seemed to read his mood. "Please?" Was all the boy said. Tom had been raised in a muggle orphanage, he knew of their religions.

"I don't want to go to hell." He said, not looking at Harry. "And I doubt the afterlife accepts pleads of insanity and shitty childhoods as excuses..."

"But is being stuck here really anything good? Sure you can summon what you want but its not nice, its empty and boring, and there are no other people here... I know you hate, fear even, being alone..." The boy whispered. Tom knew he made a good point, in the end it was all empty, this place was a sort of hell. "And anyway," The boy continued, getting off his log and finally looking away from Tom, "You won't have to be alone..."

"What do you mean?" He asked him, what was Harry suggesting?

"I could... Go with you... If you do get sent to hell. If I get a choice." Harry was standing in front of him now, his face still turned to the side as if he couldn't bear looking at Tom.

"But why?" Tom didn't understand it at all.

"Because... You aren't Voldemort." Harry said, "You were him but only for a short time, and you had spent so long with me, as you said we were one being..."

"But that doesn't explain why you would do that." Tom stated, still confused. It wasn't like he didn't like what the boy was offering, it just... "I thought you hated me, I took so much from you..."

"I don't hate you," Harry told him firmly, still refusing to turn his head, "I hate Voldemort. _He_ took so much from me. But Tom Riddle... That lonely, abused child whom had no one to hold him after a nightmare, to chase away his fears and tell him the dark wasn't as scary as he thought it was... To tell him he was safe and loved... the child whom did all he could for the world that demanded it of him and never got anything in return but more demands to be better as if he _wasn't already amazing_ and they just _couldn't see it_... I feel sorry for him..." Tom was stunned and didn't know what to say, to hear such things being said by this boy, "If I could have... I _would_ have held him and protected him... If only I could have... But that was long before my time, and by the time I met him he was already replaced with that monster, the shield he hid behind that had taken him over... I saw those memories of him and I wanted to cry for him and scream about the fact no one had loved him, and that I couldn't..." He looked up at Tom finally, still so short that Tom was roughly a head taller, and his big, bright green eyes were reddened and watery, as if the mere thought of Tom's childhood brought tears to those beautiful orbs. "If you want... I will come with you. I will follow you, even to hell. You won't have to be alone anymore." And Tom knew that he meant the words he said, that if Harry could he would indeed follow him and care for him. He felt liquid fall down his right cheek. It stunned him, he had not cried in so long. He went to reach a hand up to wipe it away but a smaller hand beat him to it, wiping gently away from his face as the boy looked up at him with such kindness.

"Even in death you remain so selfless? What of your loved ones? You have so may waiting for you..." Tom asked him, could the boy really do this?

"They know me and how I feel for them," Harry stated, "You are the one that needs love now. And besides... Those we love never really leave us, they are always with us, in here." Harry pointed to his own chest, just over his heart, "They would understand."

"You would do this for me?" Tom couldn't believe it, never had anyone ever be so kind to him, he certainly never expected it from this boy. Such a beautiful boy. Harry nodded solemnly. "Alright, I will get my soul back and whole." He told Harry, "but I don't even know how to get my soul back into one piece, I never bothered to research that far."

"Dumbledore told me that if you feel real regret your soul will merge with you again." Harry responded. Tom nodded and tried to think of things he regretted, he regretted hurting Harry, having known him so personally he could barely stand that his counterpart had been so cruel, he also regretted splitting his soul in the first place, it had caused him to lose his sanity as well as the parts he had deemed unworthy, he knew better now. Nothing happened.

"Well, I don't see any floaty lights trying to merge with my body?"

"Maybe you need to find the parts first and be near them?" Harry suggested to him, "I'm sure they must be here if I was brought here and you are stuck here."

"So you think we should just search the forest? Don't think maybe we can summon them?" He asked Harry, he wasn't yet ready to move away from him, they were so close that an inch more and their chests would touch.

"I don't know... We could try..." And with that Harry closed his eyes and seemed to think hard, when he opened them nothing had happened. "Well... They can't be that far..." Harry murmured.

"Well let's go find them then." Tom stated, not truly sure of himself but trying to be confident.

"Lets!" And with that Harry used his left hand to grab onto Tom's right, stunning him for a moment before he squeezed the hand lightly and they set of, the forest moving out of their way to form a path as they went. Right now, with Harry holding his hand, Tom felt even more confident and sure that this plan would not go bad, and hey, for all they knew hell wasn't really a place and moving on may mean something else for Tom. He hoped Harry would follow him still either way.

The first piece they came across was Nagini, She was in a small clearing in the forest laying her head on another Tom, this piece was shady and dark like a shadow, it was bald and Tom thought that if it had colour like him it would look like Voldemort, it was also see through like Tom. It noticed their arrival but did nothing. Harry squeezed Tom's hand again in encouragement before letting go so Tom could approach Nagini and the shadow. He thought back to Harry's word about regret being the key as he kneeled down, he wasn't sure if this would work but he knew he had to tell her anyway. Nagini slipped her head off the shadows lap and looked to Tom.

 _~Master?~_ She questioned.

 _~Yes Nagini.~_ Tom replied. _~I'm sorry,~_ He told her, _~I used you to run errands for me when I had no body and later turned you into a horcrux without care for your own being, so that if I ever died your life would be forfeit to return mine, I did it thinking that as Slytherins heir I had the right but I did **not** , I am sorry for using you and abusing your trust and love in me for my own gain. You are a good and loyal being and I should have respected that more than I did.~ _He was aware that it was his counterpart that committed these crimes against the beautiful snake but as they were all part of the same whole it felt right to apologize in its place, she truly was a good and beautiful animal that should not have been abused. And with that the shadow stood and started glowing, a bright light emitting from its chest and taking up its whole being before shooting into Tom's own. Nagini also glowed with light and started disappearing but not into Tom, she was finally able to move on.

 _~Thank you master.~_ She said before blinking out of existence. Tom smiled, hoping that what ever Nagini had in store would be good for her.

Harry smiled at him and took his hand again, "You are less see through." He commented, and when Tom looked at himself he noticed it, he was still more see through than not but it was a start. They moved on to find the next piece. He found that it wasn't hard to regret the deaths and events that caused the horcrux to be created. Hepzibah was easy to regret, the old woman, while annoying, had certainly not deserved to die. With each piece reabsorbed he became less transparent. But when it came to the piece from the ring Tom found it hard to regret killing his father.

"Regretting his murder doesn't mean you have to like him or agree that what he did to you was fair," Harry reasoned with him, "But do you really think he deserved to die for it? He was drugged and spirited away from his family and fiance, could you really blame him for running when the drugs wore off? He was scared and unreasonable. He should have found you and taken responsibility despite it being your mothers fault, but did killing him make it any better? Did it fix anything?" He knew Harry had a point, killing his father had only felt good in a sense of revenge, but it never gave him any closure, he kept running from everything related to the man long after his death. Tom's problems were his own and his mother had caused the problems with his father. It was harder than all the rest so far but he managed to regret enough that the shadow of that piece merged with him. Only one left now. The main piece and the one he was most reluctant to merge with. It housed all those bad emotions he thought were the best to help his goals at the time. It was anger and hatred and violence and pride and so much more. He was also scared of what would happen when he merged and was whole again, despite Harry's promise and firm hand hold on his own.

**-Harry's POV-**

Harry was proud of Tom, he had bravely taken back all the pieces but one and they were searching for it now. His only worry was that this piece was the main, would regret work on it? Would it take Tom over again even after all that had happened now? Harry knew that even if it did he would make good on his promise and follow him, because he knew even if the monster took over Tom would have to be under there somewhere and just maybe he could bring him out again and stuff the monster away for good. With only that small hope it was enough for him.

Eventually they found the last piece. It wasn't so much a shadow as the others, somewhere between shadowed and coloured. It was a snarling, snake featured, wraith-like monster, like it had been in life but even scarier still. They only halted briefly before approaching further, Harry was reluctant as ever to release Tom's hand but forced himself to, Tom needed to concentrate. He stood back as Tom got closer, the shadow snarling fiercely at him but making no move to attack.

"Harry, I don't think I can do this..." Came Tom's uncertain voice. The shadow snarled mockingly at Tom and Harry reached out, grabbing Tom's hand and pulling him back briefly.

"You can." He told him, placing his hands on either side of Tom's face so he couldn't look away, "You are stronger than this."

"But it's so evil and wrong, I don't want all that hatred and evil back." Tom whispered, looking slightly lost but the sight of Harry's bright orbs in front of him kept him grounded.

"You. Are. Stronger." Harry told him firmly, "You aren't Voldemort, are you? Are you the monster who raised an army? Who tortured for fun? Who had no care for others?" Tom was looking more stricken as he continued but Harry didn't let him speak yet, "Or are you Tom? My Tom? Who can still love, who can do better than before, who is great and powerful and doesn't need the world to bow down to prove it?" Harry stated fiercely, "Which is it?" He demanded. Tom raised his left hand to cover Harry's and stared him in the eyes.

"I am Tom Marvolo Riddle Junior." He stated loudly and broke away from Harry, turning to face the still-snarling shadow of Voldemort, "And I _am_ stronger than you!" He shouted to it, "You will join me but you will _not_ control me again! Ever!" And with that Harry watched as Tom got closer to the shadow, praying Tom would be okay and that things would work out. "I regret taking out my frustrations as a child out on the other orphans and their innocent pets!" Tom yelled as the hissing shadow, It made a move to lunge at him and Harry held his breath but Tom dodged out of its way and continued, "I regret letting my fears get the best of me so much that I never outgrew them!" He dodged another attack from the shadow, Tom's feet moving fast to get behind it, "I regret getting sucked into the views of my house by my desire to fit in!" The shadow hissed angrily as it turned towards Tom again, "I regret releasing the basilisk from the chamber to kill muggleborns when I myself was no better than them! I regret getting Hagrid expelled and Myrtle killed!" The shadow swiped again, barely missing Tom as he dodged out of its way once again, staggering as he went, "I regret ever splitting my soul in the first place! I regret making others worship me instead of befriend me as I had truly wanted as a child!" With every regret spoken the shadow of Voldemort seemed to get angrier and angrier, Snarling with large pointed fangs and swiping its clawed, spidery hands at Tom whom barely managed to dodge many of the blows, some even nicking him causing Harry to gasp but he knew better than to interfere, Tom had to do this, "I regret raising inferi for an army! I regret making another army of creatures considered dark! I regret poisoning the minds of so many people to do my bidding!" The monster was practically roaring at him now, its hissing and snarling having gotten so loud with frustration and anger, "I regret cursing the defense position out of spite when I did not get it myself and causing the death and injury of so many people, not to mention the lack of education to young minds!"

He was slow in dodging and the monster slashed his side, but it didn't seem deep and he continued on, "I regret starting a war knowing only bad things would come of it! I regret killing so many people, either by my own hand or by another I had command of!" Harry was thinking the monster couldn't possibly get any angrier but he saw a light forming in its chest and felt hope rise in his own, "I regret killing my father and grandparents and framing my uncle for their murder! I regret the deaths of the Albanian peasant I didn't even know, The goblin Family near Nottingham and the Germans! I regret the deaths of Dorcas Meadowes, The Muggle Tramp and the Bones Family!" Harry was impressed with the slew of names and Tom's quick dodging, the light glowing ever brighter with each said, "I regret killing Frank Bryce, Charity Burbage and Mykew Gregoravitch! I regret killing Bertha Jorkins and Rufus Scrimgeour! I regret killing Lily and James Potter! I regret killing Cedric Diggory, Griphook and Gellert Grindelwald! I regret killing Severus Snape, Alastor Moody and Peter Pettigrew!" The shadow had a stream of light coming from its chest and was almost done for, Harry was shielding his eyes from the light pouring out from it, Tom decided to deliver the final blow, "I regret every single death I caused by my own hand or not! I also regret ever going after Harry and causing him so much pain!" Tom was panting due to all the moving and yelling but he sucked in another breath, "I regret ever dreaming up Lord Voldemort!" And with a mighty shriek the shadow burst into light, getting sucked up into Tom's chest and knocking him down, he landed near Harry who immediately pulled him up and embraced him tightly. Tom was stunned for a moment it seemed, or getting his breath back, but he returned the embrace, holding Harry tightly and resting his head atop Harry's own.

"So... What now? I'm not seeing any fiery tendrils come to suck me down to hell." Tom wondered. Harry looked around, though he didn't lessen his grip on Tom any, now that the shadow had gone there was nothing left but the silence of the forest, he looked back at Tom and could see him clearly now, he was no longer transparent at all but his eyes were more red, not scarlet like Voldemort's, more like a bright maroon Harry thought. They stayed like that for a few minutes, or maybe it was only seconds, getting their breath back and basking in the relief of victory. Harry thought about the fact that usually long hugs with him got awkward, unless of course if it was with Ginny, his kids or his best mates, but he felt like he could continue holding onto Tom forever if he could. And he would. He promised.

Their silence was broken by a minute whooshing sound, they both turned to find a dark figure taking up the clearing the shadow had just so recently vacated. It was very tall and dark and reminded Harry of a dementor but it was without the aura blacking out the surrounding and sucking the warmth and happiness out of everything, it was robed in black like a dementors cloak with a hood over its head, the inside so dark no face could be made out at all. He wasn't sure if it was standing or floating, as wisps of inky smoke surrounded its base.

"Well well, You are indeed an interesting person master." Its voice was flat and monotone, though not the bored kind, it didn't sound like either female or male really and seemed to hold a pitch all its own.

It had called him master? Suddenly Harry had an idea of who this might be.

"Death?" He asked it.

"That would be correct." It replied. Harry honestly expected death to be creepier, you know, other than the black robe and the whole inky swirl thing going on.

"Why are you here? To take Tom away?" Harry clutched onto Tom protectively, he could feel the minute shaking that told him Tom was afraid.

"No actually," Death responded, "You see, I let you stay here because I was curious about your behavior, I wanted to know how you would react to seeing your old enemy in purgatory. I can't say I expected _this_ but we can just call that hitting two birds with one stone shall we."

"You wanted Tom to be whole again?" Harry wondered.

"No, not really. Honestly it doesn't much affect me if he had stayed here for eternity, he wouldn't be the first. I am here to talk to you master." The title was said slowly, as if death was simply toying with it rather than using it out of respect or necessity, though Harry took no offense, he wouldn't like having someone be his master either.

"I don't own the hallows, the stone is lost in the forest and the wand was returned to Dumbledore's grave. I don't even have the cloak anymore, my son has it, he's probably passed it on to his kids by now." Harry stated.

"True, but you were the only person to ever own all three at once. The only other person who even got that close was Dumbledore, where as he owned all three but not all at once. You see the hallows are not so much a ticket to immortality as many like to think, they just make my job painstakingly hard, not to mention the stone being an insult to me, which is why people with the wand or stone don't tend to have much luck in the 'staying alive department', I go after them as soon as I know someone has them. Not always easy depending on the persons intelligence though and of course whether or not they know what they have may make me hold back a little." Death explained, "Normally I would have just made you go on to what is next but as I stated, I was curious. And you certainly took an unexpected path, but you have a habit of that it seems. Now I am here to give you some choices, a very rare gift so I recommend you do not take it for granted."

"Choices?" Harry wondered.

"Well you can go on, as you humans like to say, to whats next." Death told him.

"Would I get to see my loved ones?" Harry asked it.

"Ah, you see, even with this rare opportunity I give you I cannot tell you what happens next if you choose that path, ruins it all you see. Whether you are to go to some heaven and be with those you love or get reincarnated, I cannot say. But you have yet to hear my other proposals, I heard the promise you made to him," Death gestured towards Tom who was silent and staring at the dark figure, still shaking minutely. "and I can offer you ways to make good on this deal."

"Go on..." Harry was reluctant to trust the dark entity.

"Well I am offering you a chance for Tom to relive life, a chance to do better and actually use his time for something other than avoiding the end."

"Really? And what do you want in return?" Harry was always reluctant of deals that seemed to good to be true, "You are death, what do you get from bringing him back to life? Another war?" Tom flinched slightly at the accusation but Harry was concentrating on the impossibly tall being taking up the clearing.

"Just because I am the embodiment of death does not mean I enjoy the end of all life. I am simply a cruel truth to life that makes it worth existing in the first place, imagine if no one died? No one would ever get anything done. A stagnant world is no good." Death explained in its flat, emotionless voice. "And my terms for this agreement you ask? I ask that you go with him Harry. This is a deal for you after all, not him. Watch him, keep him in check, make sure he doesn't go Dark Lord again. I ask that you stay under the radar, become famous if you must but for good things please, not for blowing up your house maids head." Harry almost wanted to giggle at the statement, mostly due to the flat tone it was said in. "Just have a nice, normal life. And if you must ask 'why' that is as I said, you were the only person to get the hallows all at once and live, and you fascinate me. So you get a second run. But only one more. But it's also because of the bond you two share. "

"Bond?" Harry wondered. Harry found it surprisingly easy to believe that death did not want everything to die. That it was a cruel necessity.

"Before you were even born there was a prophecy that tied you to Tom, then you shared the same soul practically, and then the whole blood ritual, you even checked into each others minds a few times. Body, mind and soul all that stuff your kind blathers on about." Harry was simply staring at Death blankly, he wasn't sure what he was getting at. "You two are soul mates." Death continued, "Simple really, you humans talk about them all the time."

"Soul mates are actually real? I thought that was just some romantic lovey-dove crap?" Harry wondered.

"Yes, they are a real thing, a lot of the things you humans go on about have more merit than most of you would like to think. Though they don't mean what you humans usually think, it's not romantic, or at least it doesn't have to be. Soul mates can be friends, siblings or partners, romantic or not. I'm sure you get the idea. They are two souls destined to work well together in a sense." Death stated. "It's not every life-time that soul-mates actually meet though, and unfortunately for you two you met on opposite sides of a war. Tragic really." Harry got the feeling death didn't really think it that tragic, it worked in odd ways and Harry just found himself more and more confused the more they talked, though he saw the merit in the whole soul-mates thing Death was going on about.

"So, because we are soul-mates that were pitted against each other, because I got all the hallows and lived and because I amuse you somewhat you are going to give us both a second life?"

"Indeed. But know that if Tom turns into Voldemort again I will fuck his shit up." Again the flat tone and what was said made Harry want to laugh, who knew Death was so vulgar? "And if you think I was hard on you last time because of you trying to escape me you don't even want to know what I will be like when you abuse this gift." Death warned Tom, whom could only nod in response.

"Alright... But how would this happen?" Harry asked.

"That's where you get more options, if you indeed choose this of course, you could still move on to where ever it is you hope to go or follow Tom where he goes."

"Will we still have magic?" Tom asked Death.

"Yes, you will, and no matter what you choose you can either keep your memories or forget everything and start over, that is up to you. Now your options. I could have you two born as siblings, twins or maybe one of you a few years older. Or you could be born to different families that are close to each other but unrelated if you wish, of course there is always a chance one family will be forced to move away. And there is another option that means you don't have to go through the whole childhood thing again, I can put you two back on the earth, as it was when Harry died just so recently, at whatever age you wish, I can pull a few strings so you have a Gringotts bank and the necessary papers to not rouse any suspicion. A few changes might have to be made, small ones only and you will still essentially be the same people as you were, I am powerful enough to get this done with no cracks, you can even have your wands back and no matter how skilled no wand maker would be able to tell they were the same wands as your old ones. You will fit right in. Of course for you Harry I will need to do a bit of a compulsion spell, simply to keep you from your old family, it won't do to have you getting too close to them again, you can watch from afar like all your family's fans but get too close and the spell will kick in, making you lose interest in them and go to something else, like you wizards do with your wards to keep muggles out. It would be for the good of both you and your family. You choose this option and everything will be sorted out for you when you get there, you just tell me what age you want to be and if you want to be related on these papers." Death finished up, "So what will it be? Siblings, childhood friends or no strings attached? Or will you simply go on?"

Harry looked to Tom, he couldn't believe they were being given this opportunity to start over fresh, just the two of them. He didn't much like the sound of going through childhood and learning again when he would rather keep his old memories, he wouldn't mind the last option and had no doubt Death would make good on the promise to give them everything they needed to slip by unnoticed.

"The third option?" Tom whispered to him lowly, the look on his face made it clear he thought it to be Harry's choice to make in the end and that he was simply suggesting his preference. "I can be good, I promise. If you can just stay with me." Tom pleaded. Harry nodded.

"And I also already promised, I will stay with you." He turned to Death, "The third option would be best." He told it. "Um... I'd like to be 18, so I don't have to go through all the school things again. Oh and not related to Tom." Harry stated, looking to Tom to see if this was alright.

"I will be 19 then, It doesn't feel right to let you be older than me." He added to Harry with a grin, despite the fact that Harry had lived to one-hundred-and-twenty-eight and he only seventy.

"You won't have any jobs." Death told them, "You will have enough money in your bank to get by for a while without one. Also Harry your scar will have to go. Everything else can remain the same. Your names are common so if I put you down on the papers as muggleborns no one will question them, a slight change to your first names and middle names will suffice, not large enough for you to need to relearn new ones."

"That's fine." Harry answered, "Will I still need glasses?"

"I can fix that too if you want." Death informed him.

"Please do."

"So are you ready then?" Death asked. Harry and Tom shared a look at each other and each nodded.

"Yes." Tom stated.

"Very well then."

And the forest got bright and blinding, Harry and Tom covered their eyes as everything disappeared from view and the world got ripped apart.

**\---**

Harry awoke on a soft bed, bright sunlight filtering through the fine curtains on the window. From what he could see of the room he was in the leaky cauldron, the sounds of a busy London and Diagon alley could be heard beyond the window. He felt as if he had just been in the strangest dream and continued to lay in the warm bed while his mind caught up to him. He remembered the forest, and the shadows, and Death, and Tom.

"Tom!" He turned around on the bed quickly, pushing himself up with his arms so he was only half laying down, and sure enough Tom was next to him, in a similar state of awakening.

"Harry!" Tom responded as he too sat up. They stared at each other for a while, not taking their eyes of each other, neither believing it real. But it was. They were here. Alive. Together. And then they were kissing. Harry wasn't sure who started it, perhaps they both grabbed each other at the same time, but he couldn't care. The only care he had right now was that Tom was here with him, and the taste of his lips on his own and their tongues intertwined. Eventually they did break up the kiss though, each panting for breath, and looked around at the room they appeared to be renting.

They were in the same bed, a large, wooden fourposter with dark blue blankets and white sheets, It was stationed in the middle of the room with the headboard against a wall. The room and its contents where mostly old, dark wood, there was a large desk with a cheap yet comfy looking chair in front of it near the window on the right wall which was closest to Harry, he had a feeling they could look from the window and see down to Diagon alley. To the left where Tom was there was a door, likely leading out into the pub, and there was an empty bookshelf on the stretch of wall between the door and the wall the bed was against. Across from the bed was another door, due to the room being a long-term stay one they guessed it to be some sort of bathroom, they could check later. On the same wall as the apparent bathroom door was a wardrobe and a set of large drawers, A stand-alone mirror was near the wardrobe. In the corner of the room, the corner connecting the walls that had the wardrobe and window, was a couch, two armchairs and a table seated around an old metal fireplace which was closest to the walls. A huge, dark rug took up most of the scuffed wooden floor with another smaller, red rug sitting at the fireplace area.

On either side of the bed was a small set of draws with flat tops, on top of each where pieces of rolled up parchment. Harry grabbed his, a wand falling out of the scroll onto his lap as he unfurled it, his holy wand. It was a copy of what appeared to be legal information about him, including his new age, a muggleborn status, the same test scores he got in his past life and his new name, 'Hericules Jaymes Potter'. He looked over to Tom to see his was very much the same, his wand had also fallen out onto his lap along with a key, Harry guessed for their bank vault, and a scroll that had the same kind of information. He silently let Tom take his paper to look at it while he got Toms. Tom's new name would be 'Tomias Macario Riddle'. Indeed anyone who saw the names would see similarities, if only to Harry's due to almost no one knowing who Tom was, but they were common last names and the other names were different enough to passed off as coincidence.

"So... This is really real then." Harry said to Tom, if only to say something. How was one supposed to react to this kind of thing? He was still rather stunned and by Tom's silent nod he guessed things were the same for him. He grabbed Tom's hand in his own, gently squeezing it and causing Tom to look at him. He smiled at Tom and after a second Tom gave him a some-what unsure grin in response.

"Shall we check out the room then?" Tom suggested. They got up and did that, finding the wardrobe and all the draws filled with clothing that either fit Harry or Tom, it was all plain stuff but it was enough for now. The door across from the bed was indeed a bathroom, it had only a shower, toilet and sink but it was enough. They finished up checking out the small room and decided to get the fire going and sit together on the couch, Harry sitting so close to Tom he was practically sitting on top of his lap, their hands were held gently together as they both simply stared at the fire. They would have to check out their bank account and get things sorted out, but that could be done. All that mattered now was that they were together, and they had all the time in the world. A whole lifetime.

A second life.

 

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so this was just an idea that came to me randomly that I decided to play with some more and ended up liking where it went. I hope you guys liked it too! This is it. That's all. I may do a sequel sometime which would probably be more of a fluffy daily-lives drabble thing. 
> 
> I needed some short fluff since I am writing a MUCH bigger project right now which is more of a drama. Hopefully I will continue with that and you guys will get to see it, if not then sorry for writing this and getting your hopes up! I won't be posting that project until I have the whole story written down, so I don't leave you guys with a half-done story should I drop it.
> 
> Macario means 'blessed / happy', I thought it would fit Tom's new predicament, and Jaymes is just an old way of writing James. 
> 
> Tell me what you thought of this story!


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